🚀 go-pugleaf

On Fri, 18 May 2001 15:49:24 GMT, "Me" <tobtoh@hotmail.com> wrote:

>When I was doing my engineering degree, I was told the danger from mobile
>phones came from the electronic equipment picking up the RF (radio
>frequency) signals from the phone.
>
>Basically, a mobile phone minimises the amount of RF as much as possible.
>However, if you walk into a low reception area, it can boost the power of
>it's RF to greater levels to try and keep a good connection the base
>station.
>
>Now in electronic equipment, there are often small wires sticking up or
>short wire traces on the motherboard. When the mobile phone boosts it's RF
>power, these small wire stubs act as small atennae. The RF signal is picked
>up and transmitted along the electronic equipments circuit where it may end
>up 'entering' an electronic component. Electronic components, especially IC
>chips are designed to accept voltages/currents within certain tolerances. If
>they receive voltages/current outside these tolerances, that's when they can
>be damaged.
>
>Hence, the unexpected RF signal that comes down the circuit can damage the
>electronic component.
>
>What I have just said is something I read in an electronics magazine once -
>but I can't remember where or when.
>

As a practical matter, a cell phone emits puny amounts of power. While
you *might* temporarily disrupt the operation of a poorly-shielded
device (semiconductor junctions could rectify the RF and make DC
offsets in the millivolt range)  a cell phone doesn't have anything
like the energy density to kill a semiconductor. There are lots of far
more powerful RF sources around - ham radio, airport radars, AM/FM/TV
transmitters-  and they don't zap things.

John